Chapter 4

My hand froze midair. I instinctively held my breath.

The faint click of a lighter came from inside.

Harper had picked up smoking during the early stages of her business, but she only smoked when she was especially stressed.

After a long silence, I finally heard a familiar voice.

“I honestly don’t know.”

Harper’s usually calm voice carried a faint sense of uncertainty.

“At first, I wanted to get married. Even starting the company was tied to that thought. I wanted to succeed and marry him in style.

“But for some reason, whenever marriage comes up now, Eugene’s face keeps popping into my mind.”

“What?” Her best friend gasped in disbelief.

“Didn’t you detest him the most back at university? You even said he was like chewing gum that wouldn’t come off.

“I found it strange when you first started the company and hired him as your secretary. I never thought you’d actually fall for him. But what about Jayden?”

Harper fell silent for a long time before she finally answered.

“I wouldn’t say I like him. I still love Jayden. It’s just that Eugene has been by my side for so many years. If I marry Jayden, he’ll be really hurt. It just makes him seem… kind of pitiful.”

I did not know how I exited the building.

By the time I came to my senses, I was already out on the street in a daze. My face was wet with tears.

Never had I imagined Eugene to be the reason Harper did not want to get married.

Although Harper and I had attended the same university and even the same class, we chose different academic tracks.

On the first day of class, she had messaged me, saying that a boy had asked for her contact details and kept tailing her even after she turned him down.

That boy was Eugene.

Later, she became so annoyed that she started bringing me along to class.

Even so, it did not deter Eugene from pursuing her. He still trailed behind her.

But my childhood bond with Harper was never something he could threaten. She had rejected him coldly every time.

For that reason, I never once doubted her feelings for me.

Even when Harper hired Eugene as her secretary during the early days of her company, I had only assumed he shared her academic background and was simply well-suited for the position.

I never expected Eugene to already occupy a place in her heart without me realizing it.

Harper had abandoned the idea of marrying me out of pity for his years of unrequited love.

What would come after that?

Would she feel guilty again over his steadfast devotion and eventually give him a chance to be with her just to make him happy?

What would our childhood bond even amount to?

A phone notification pulled me back to reality.

It was a voice message from Mom.

“Jayden, you and Harper have been together for eight years. It’s about time you got married. A while back, Mrs. Litchfield asked me if you two had broken up, since you’ve been together so long without getting married. She also said that if you had split up, she could introduce you to her niece. I…”

As I listened to Mom’s rambling voice, I wiped away my tears and replied, carefully emphasizing every word.

“Mom, Harper and I have broken up. Please tell Mrs. Litchfield I’d like to meet her niece.”